Health care providers’ perceptions of barriers, facilitators, and acceptability of an eHealth resource: Descriptive study

Abstract

Introduction: Women often experience breastfeeding difficulties leading to premature supplementation and cessation. Implementing evidence-informed eHealth resources in clinical interactions with health care providers (HCPs), both in the health department and hospitals throughout a health region may help address this longstanding clinical issue. However, the provision of an eHealth resource alone is not sufficient to increase breastfeeding rates and health literacy, as the effective implementation of the eHealth resource in clinical practice is required. As such, our study objective was to conduct a needs assessment with HCPs to determine the barriers, facilitators, and perceived acceptability of the eHealth resource. Methods: A non-experimental descriptive study was used to examine HCPs’ perceptions of barriers and facilitators to the implementation of an eHealth resource in clinical settings. HCPs completed an online questionnaire to determine barriers and facilitators informed by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Results: HCPs (n=44) completed the survey and agreed the resource was credible (86%), up to date (84%), covered relevant topics (91%), would ease their ability to provide breastfeeding education (82%), and would increase consistent messaging (86%). They agreed it would increase parents’ breastfeeding health literacy (91%) and help parents meet their breastfeeding goals (86%). Concerns were expressed regarding how this would be used in clinical interactions due to challenges with navigation, searchability, and the large amount of content. Implications and Conclusion: HCPs rated the eHealth resource highly; however, adaptations to the local context are required. For effective implementation of interventions in clinical settings, HCPs’ perceptions should be explored to determine their specific needs and determine how to best adapt the intervention to their setting to increase acceptability and facilitate use in clinical interactions.